THERE IS NO CURE FOR CANCER

I've been writing about Pinktober since I started this blog in 2011. See 2011's The Hunt for Pink October, 2012's Six-Word Memoir, 2013's Pinktober Preparedness, 2014's Sugarcoating Cancer. (For more about the Pinktober phenomenon, last October I compiled a list of posts written by my bloggy BC friends; click here for a good read to go with your coffee this morning.)

This "Pinktober 2015," I'm writing about Metastatic Breast Cancer. 

OPPOSING PINKTOBER, FREE MEMES AND MORE

We are smack dab in the middle of Pinktober. Hmmm.

I created a couple of Six-Word Memoir memes a while back, and thought I'd share them now. Feel free to reuse them and repost them!

To learn more about "Pinktober," please read any (or all) of the following posts from some of my favorite blogging sisters...

ACT WITH LOVE!

In two days, the first day of "Pinktober" will have arrived. Again.

Rather than rehash my feelings about the pinkification of breast cancer (read that October 1, 2011 post here), let's act with love and make history together by signing up for the HOW (Health of Women) study...

THE ICE BUCKET BACKLASH

You've seen the videos all over Facebook and other social media: People participating in The Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money and awareness for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig's Disease). A vast array of my Facebook friends participated, too. 

A few have mentioned making a monetary donation. Fewer still have made an attempt to educate people about ALS in their videos. Most only mention money as a penalty. Most opt for the ice water dousing, though some also donate dollars and get doused. 

It took some time for me to figure out why I felt so uncomfortable when viewing these videos. Then it hit me: This challenge isn't really about ALS at all...

PINKTOBER PREPAREDNESS

With "Pinktober" right around the corner, I received this morning from Dr. Susan Love's "Act With Love" Research Foundation. Dr. Love understands the challenges, the politics and the need for greater research (vs. "awareness") with regard to breast cancer and is busy putting programs in place to not just raise research dollars, but to actually tap the people of the world so we can assist in the research itself. It's pretty impressive...

SIX-WORD MEMOIR: PINKTOBER

I'm bringing back the Six-Word Memoir® challenge! 

Last May, our six word challenge was about cancer in general (see that post here). Many in the blogosphere joined in. Now I'd like to focus on breast cancer and Pinktober. 

So I'm challenging you...

SUGARCOATING CANCER

It's Wordle Wednesday. And it's Pinktober. That means only one thing: It's time to stop sugarcoating cancer. Enough already. Breast cancer ain't pretty and it certainly ain't pink. (Well, I take that back: The only thing pink about breast cancer is our scars.) So rather than telling you how I feel about the deluge of pink that threatens to drown us all this month...

PROS AND CONS OF CANCER

It's Day 27 of the WEGO Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge and the finish line is in sight! Today's task: List the five most difficult things about having breast cancer, as well as the five good things that keep me going. A total of 10 things I got out of cancer.

TOP 5 CONS OF HAVING BREAST CANCER

1. Being forced to face my mortality
2. Having a lack of energy during the day and trouble sleeping at night
3. Hiding my under-construction chest
4. Taking Tamoxifen
5. Spending so much time dealing with doctors appointments, preparing for surgery, having surgery, recovering from surgery and follow-ups — it's inordinate, ridiculous, and a full-time job!

TOP 5 PROS OF HAVING BREAST CANCER

1. Taking a stand against Pinktober (read my posts here, here and here)
2. Discovering a vibrant, worldwide and uber-supportive web of fabulous, fascinating and funny cancer survivors
3. Realizing that right now, this moment, is the only "for sure" that any of us have
4. Making exercise, eating well and being kind to myself a top priority
5. Falling in love with writing again — and finding my voice via this blog

THE HUNT FOR PINK OCTOBER

Exactly one year ago — October 1, 2010 — I had the mammogram that would alter everything. (It's sort of ironic that I found my cancer during the very month that has been hammered into our heads as the month to get a mammogram. So I guess that's the good news.)

Much has been written about the Hunt for Pink October, and prior to being diagnosed myself, I was blissfully unaware of how breast cancer survivors might feel about all this pinkification. My involvement in the surging sea of pink prior to my diagnosis was one of abject commercialism. In the world of women's consumer magazines (where I used to toil), the pages of each October issue were flush with pink products. We had to create 'thoughtful' stories structured around a breast cancer theme, drum up reasons to buy rose-colored, rhinestone-encrusted compacts, and entice readers to want to do downward dog on a pretty-in-pink yoga mat. It was all part of the job. We were providing a service (albeit a branded one) in which women not afflicted by the disease could in some way show their support (via the "percentage of proceeds donated") for those that were. And we were doing our best to educate the masses about breast cancer with our articles. But let's be honest: Advertisers loved seeing their "pink'd" items showcased on our pages — and that kept the wheels of profitability greased and spinning. 

Did I ever stop to think how "Pinktober" felt to a woman who actually had breast cancer? 

No.

Then I got diagnosed. Now I know. It sucks. Pinktober is just one ginormous reminder that I didn't dodge the bullet. And no pretty-in-pink yoga mat is gonna change my status now. 

(Copyright The Big C and Me)

Speaking of hues, who chose pink as the color of breast cancer anyway? 'cause I think they got it all wrong. Blue — now that's a color any survivor can wrap his or her head around. What BCer doesn't feel blue? Not all the time, of course, but I bet we feel blue more often than we feel pink. Yes? No?

You want to see real breast cancer pink? Check out a sistah post-surgery. No matter the color of our skin, our scars are the same: pink.

My one-year marker is the first of many dates I'll be noting in the coming months. The best place for me to reflect on these types of things is on the trail. We had a little rain today, and storm clouds were still swirling overhead, so after dinner, my husband and I went up into the mountains and were greeted by a rosy sunset of spectacular proportion. 

The Hunt for Pink October? I think I may have found it. In shades of blue — and pink.